Beaches

Life in the Indiana Dunes is like a day at the beach. That’s because we have 15 beautiful miles of award-winning shoreline to explore and nine oh-so-swimmable beaches. Start your day with a hike up a sand dune overlooking Lake Michigan, and end it on the beach below. Fire up the grill and air-dry with a lakeside BBQ, cast a line from the nearby fishing pier and reel in dinner, and somewhere between the windswept tall grasses and your sand-scrubbed feet, you’ll be enchanted by the magic of the Indiana Dunes.

Nine beaches, 15 miles of coastline, and one Great Lake. There are so many elements that make the Indiana Dunes one of the Midwest’s top destinations, the most important being the safety of…

Indiana Dunes Parks

The Indiana Dunes National Park and the Indiana Dunes State Park offer access to dune-lined shores and endless outdoor adventures. Here you can explore beaches, dunes, prairies, oak savannas, wetlands, rivers, bogs, and forests. In the two parks' combined 17,000+ acres, nearly 2,000 different species of plants and animals have been identified. That makes Indiana Dunes one of the most biodiverse areas in the United States!

Indiana Dunes National Park

Walk on glacial sands, pushed and pulled by time into dunes nearly 250 feet high. Paddle across a 300-mile-long lake with waves and scenery that rival the Atlantic.

Indiana Dunes State Park

Sand, shore, and the space to breathe—over 2,000 acres of it! This isn’t your run of the mill state park, it’s a place shaped by thousands of years of shifting landscapes and…

Backpacks For Naturalists

The Indiana Dunes is one of the most biodiverse parks in the U.S., and the Backpacks for Naturalists program offers free explorer backpacks for daily use. 

Tales from the Dunes

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Beaches

Accessible Adventures in the Indiana Dunes

  • 5 minute read

Accessible Adventures in the Indiana Dunes Everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. Whether you're looking to hike, bird, paddle, or just wander and take in the…

Birding

Getting Warmed Up with the Rough-legged Hawk

  • 6 minute read

My ninety-year-old neighbor used to tell me that he was going out fishing… not catching, but fishing. It’s about the experience, he’d tell me. And that is how it is with…

More Things to See & Do

Dunes Deals

Shake off the sand south of the Indiana Dunes! Dig up real savings with Indiana Dunes Deals and make the most of…

Pet Friendly

There’s a reason Indiana Dunes National Park was named the #1 pet-friendly attraction in the state of Indiana…

Book a Place to Stay

Hotels & Inns

A convenient stay located near downtown? What about a country retreat heaped in Old World charm? Or…

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